Vehicle and control method thereof

ABSTRACT

A vehicle is provided to include a wiper, a wiper driver that is connected to the wiper and configured to provide a driving force for rotation of the wiper, and a multi-function switch that is configured to receive a user command to turn the wiper driver on or off. A controller is configured to adjust a position of the wiper to enter a parking state after a preset time when a local interconnect network (LIN) communication system enters a limp home mode and the rotation of the wiper is stopped by a signal for turning off the wiper driver.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2019-0112850, filed on Sep. 11,2019, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety

BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Disclosure

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle and a control methodthereof, and more particularly, to a method of controlling a wipermounted on the vehicle.

2. Description of Related Art

A vehicle is equipped with various electronic devices that receivesignals from a controller mounted therein. The vehicle implements alocal interconnect network (LIN) communication system to communicatebetween the controller and the electronics. When an error occurs on theLIN communication system, the vehicle activates a limp home mode,thereby limiting the control of various power devices in addition to theelectronics to prevent damage to the electronics of the vehicle.

For example, the vehicle is equipped with a wiper system thatreciprocates the surface of the windshield to wipe off or remove anyrain or snow on the surface. When the limp home mode enters activationwhile the wiper system is in operation, the wiper may be stopped whilethe driver's view is obstructed, thus interfering with the driver's viewand increasing the risk of an accident.

SUMMARY

Therefore, the present disclosure provides a vehicle capable ofpreventing the wiper from obstructing the driver's field of view in thelimp home mode, and a control method thereof.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, a vehicle may include: awiper; a wiper driver connected to the wiper and configured to provide adriving force for rotation of the wiper; a multi-function switchconfigured to receive a user command to turn the wiper driver on or off;and a controller configured to adjust a position of the wiper to enter aparking state after a preset time when a local interconnect network(LIN) communication system enters a limp home mode and the rotation ofthe wiper is stopped by a signal for turning off the wiper driver.

The vehicle may further include a counter configured to measure awaiting time after the rotation of the wiper is stopped, and thecontroller may be configured to adjust the position of the wiper toenter the parking state when the waiting time measured by the counterreaches the preset time. The controller may be configured to operate thewiper to maintain rotation of the wiper when the waiting time does notreach the preset time.

Additionally, the controller may be configured to initialize the waitingtime measured by the counter when the waiting time does not reach thepreset time and a signal for turning off the wiper driver is notdetected. The controller may also be configured to operate the wiperdriver not to provide a driving force to the wiper when the wiper isstopped in a parking state. The controller may be configured to operatethe wiper driver not to provide a driving force to the wiper when theposition of the wiper is stopped at a position equal to or less than apreset angle in the parking state. The preset time may be set accordingto user input.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a control method ofvehicle may include: entering the vehicle's Local Interconnect Network(LIN) communication system into a limp home mode; receiving a usercommand to turn a wiper rotation on or off; and adjusting a position ofthe wiper to enter a parking state after a preset time when the rotationof the wiper is stopped by a signal for turning off the wiper rotation.

The control method may further include measuring a waiting time afterthe rotation of the wiper is stopped. The adjusting of the wiperposition may include adjusting the position of the wiper to enter theparking state when the measured waiting time reaches the preset time.The wiper may be operated to maintain rotation thereof when the waitingtime does not reach the preset time. Additionally, the adjusting of thewiper position may include initializing the measured waiting time whenthe waiting time does not reach the preset time and a signal for turningoff the wiper rotation is not detected,

The adjusting of the wiper position may further include not providing adriving force to the wiper when the wiper is stopped in a parking state.In addition, a driving force may not be provided to the wiper when theposition of the wiper is stopped at a position equal to or less than apreset angle in the parking state. The preset time may be set accordingto user input.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects of the disclosure will become apparent andmore readily appreciated from the following description of exemplaryembodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings ofwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates a control block diagram of a vehicle according to anexemplary embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram for describing the control block diagram ofFIG. 1 in more detail according to an exemplary embodiment of thedisclosure;

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate flowcharts of a control method of the vehicleaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure; and

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate timing diagrams of wiper driving according towaiting times of counter according to an exemplary embodiment of thedisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout thespecification. Not all elements of embodiments of the disclosure will bedescribed, and description of what are commonly known in the art or whatoverlap each other in the embodiments will be omitted. The terms as usedthroughout the specification, such as “˜part,” “˜module,” “˜member,”“˜block,” etc., may be implemented in software and/or hardware, and aplurality of “˜parts,” “˜modules,” “˜members,” or “˜blocks” may beimplemented in a single element, or a single “˜part,” “˜module,”“˜member,” or “˜block” may include a plurality of elements.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being“connected” to another element, it can be directly or indirectlyconnected to the other element, wherein the indirect connection includes“connection” via a wireless communication network. Also, when a part“includes” or “comprises” an element, unless there is a particulardescription contrary thereto, the part may further include otherelements, not excluding the other elements.

Further, when it is stated that a layer is “on” another layer orsubstrate, the layer may be directly on another layer or substrate or athird layer may be disposed therebetween. It will be understood that,although the terms first, second, third, etc., may be used herein todescribe various elements, it should not be limited by these terms.These terms are only used to distinguish one element from anotherelement. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” areintended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearlyindicates otherwise.

It is understood that the term “vehicle” or “vehicular” or other similarterm as used herein is inclusive of motor vehicles in general such aspassenger automobiles including sports utility vehicles (SUV), buses,trucks, various commercial vehicles, watercraft including a variety ofboats and ships, aircraft, and the like, and includes hybrid vehicles,electric vehicles, combustion, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles,hydrogen-powered vehicles and other alternative fuel vehicles (e.g.fuels derived from resources other than petroleum).

Although exemplary embodiment is described as using a plurality of unitsto perform the exemplary process, it is understood that the exemplaryprocesses may also be performed by one or plurality of modules.Additionally, it is understood that the term controller/control unitrefers to a hardware device that includes a memory and a processor. Thememory is configured to store the modules and the processor isspecifically configured to execute said modules to perform one or moreprocesses which are described further below.

Furthermore, control logic of the present disclosure may be embodied asnon-transitory computer readable media on a computer readable mediumcontaining executable program instructions executed by a processor,controller/control unit or the like. Examples of the computer readablemediums include, but are not limited to, ROM, RAM, compact disc(CD)-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, flash drives, smart cards andoptical data storage devices. The computer readable recording medium canalso be distributed in network coupled computer systems so that thecomputer readable media is stored and executed in a distributed fashion,e.g., by a telematics server or a Controller Area Network (CAN).

Hereinafter, the operation principles and exemplary embodiments of thedisclosure will be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings. FIG. 1 illustrates a control block diagram of a vehicleaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 2illustrates a diagram for describing the control block diagram of FIG. 1in more detail

The vehicle may include a multi-function switch 100 as one of variousinput devices provided for manipulating various functions or devices.The multi-function switch 100 may be connected to a point at which asteering wheel (not shown) and a dashboard (not shown) are connected.The driver may operate various functions of the wiper 400 by using themulti-function switch 100. The multi-function switch 100 may havevarious functions such as Mist, OFF, INT, LO, HI, and washer fluidinjection. In particular, the wiper 400 may be disposed on the front ofthe vehicle to clean the surface of the wind shield.

The Mist is a function in which the wiper 400 operates once when themulti-function switch 100 is operated for less than a particular periodof time, the OFF is a function that ends the driving or operation of thewiper 400, the INT is a function in which the wiper is operatedintermittently at regular intervals, rather than continuously moving thewiper 400, and LO and HI refer to the function of adjusting therotational speed of the wiper 400. The multi-function switch 100 may beconfigured to receive a user command for adjusting the on or off of thewiper driver 300.

The functions described above may be performed by moving themulti-function switch 100 up and down by the driver, and also by movingthe multi-function switch 100 in the direction of the driver or theinstrument panel or a command of using a throttle provided in themulti-function switch 100. Depending on the vehicle type, the input maybe different for each function. The controller 200 may be configured toexecute the operations of the wiper driver 300 that provide a drivingforce for rotation of the wiper 400, and the operations of the counter500.

In particular, the controller 200 may be configured to receive a commandfor the multi-function switch 100 of the driver and execute an operationfunction of the wiper 400 corresponding to the command of the driver.The controller 200 may be configured to operate the wiper driver 300based on the signal transmitted from the counter 500. Functions andoperations related to the counter 500 will be described later. Eachconfiguration module of the controller 200 may exist respectively andmay be configured through one embedded system. In other words, thecontroller 200 may be integrated in a system on chip (SOC) embedded in avehicle and may be operated by at least one processor. However, sincethere is not only one system on chip embedded within the vehicle andthere may be a plurality of system on chips, the controller is notlimited to being integrated into one system on chip.

Furthermore, the wiper driver 300 may be physically connected to thewiper 400 to provide rotational force to the wiper 400. The wiper driver300 may be configured to adjust the driving of the wiper 400 based onthe control signals transmitted from the controller 200 and the counter500. For example, the wiper driver 300 may include a motor (not shown).In addition, the wiper driver 300 may be equipped with a separate orintegrated control circuit to operate the wiper 400 based on controlsignals transmitted from the controller 200 and the counter 500.

The counter 500 may be configured to generate a signal when apredetermined time elapses from a certain time point to set theconditions for the start and end of the wiper 400 operation with respectto time. In particular, the counter 500 may correspond to a separatehardware module connected to the controller 200, but may be a softwaremodule integrally implemented with the controller 200.

Referring to FIG. 2, various signals for operating the wiper 400 will bedescribed in detail. Particularly, IGN 1 and IGN 2 shown in FIG. 2 referto a power supply for supplying power to the various electronics,supplies power to operate the mechanical device, the electronics and thewiper 400 of the vehicle. The wiper driver 300 may be configured toreceive various signals from the controller 200 via a local interconnectnetwork (LIN) communication system. For example, the wiper driver 300may be configured to start and end the operation of the wiper 400 by asignal for turning on the driving of the wiper 400 (Wiper Low Switch)and a signal for turning off the driving of the wiper 400 (Low Back up),

In general, when the LIN communication system is operating normally(e.g., without error or malfunction), the wiper driver 300 may beconfigured to receive a signal input to the multi-function switch 100via the LIN communication system. In contrast, when the LINcommunication system is abnormally operated (e.g., with failure ormalfunction), the vehicle control system may be configured to enter alimp home mode. The limp home mode refers to a protection modecorresponding to abnormal operation of components operating inassociation with the controller 400. When entering the limp home mode,the wiper driver 300 may be configured to receive only an off signal,that is, a low back up signal, to protect the wiper control system. Inparticular, the wiper driver 300 may be configured to receive an offsignal by a switching device directly connected to the multi-functionswitch 100.

On the other hand, during the operation of the wiper 400, when enteringthe limp home mode and in response to receiving a driver input for acommand to turn off the operation of the wiper 400 through themulti-function switch 100, the operation of the wiper 400 may be stoppedimmediately. Therefore, the wiper 400 may remain in a position that mayobstruct the driver's view, which may cause an accident while driving.

The present disclosure, however, prevents the above-described risk, andadjusts the driving of the wiper 400 based on the counter 500 that maygenerate a signal after a predetermined time elapses. For example, thecontroller 200 may be configured to adjust the position of the wiper 400to automatically enter a parking state based on the time measured by thecounter 500 after stopping the rotation of the wiper 400 by limp homemode. Particularly, the parking state is an initial position of thewiper 400, and indicates a state in which the driver's front view may becompletely secured since the wiper 400 is disposed close to the bonnetof the vehicle. Therefore, despite the abnormal operation of the wiper400 by the limp home mode, the driver may secure a forward view.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the controller 200 may beconfigured to operate the wiper 400 to enter a parking state after apreset time when the LIN communication system enters limp home mode andthe rotation of the wiper 400 is stopped by a signal input to themulti-function switch 100 for turning off the wiper driver 300. Inaddition, according to one exemplary embodiment the vehicle may furtherinclude a counter 500 configured to measure the waiting time after therotation stop of the wiper and the controller 200 may be configured tooperate the wiper 400 to enter the parking state when the waiting timemeasured by the counter 500 reaches the preset time.

The configuration and basic control operation for performing the controloperation of the disclosed disclosure has been described. Hereinafter,various exemplary embodiments will be described based on theabove-described configuration and basic control operation with referenceto FIGS. 3 to 6. FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate flowcharts of a control methodof the vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure.However, this is merely an exemplary embodiment for achieving the objectof the disclosure, some steps may be added or deleted as necessary.

Moreover, the controller 200 may be configured to check whether an errorhas occurred in the LIN communication system of the vehicle (301). Inresponse to determining that no error has occurred in the LINcommunication system (302), the controller 200 does not perform aseparate control operation since the wiper is in a normal operatingstate (303). The controller 200 checks whether an error has occurred inthe LIN communication system through a feedback in response to therequest command and the request command between the master node and theslave node of the LIN communication system. Meanwhile, a controloperation when an error occurs on the LIN communication system will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 4.

Each of the rising edge signal and the falling edge signal referred toin FIG. 4 represents a signal of the wiper driver 300 for turning on oroff the driving of the wiper 400 through the multi-function switch 100by user in a digital signal manner. The falling edge signal is a signalfor turning off the driving of the wiper 400, and the rising edge signalindicates a signal other than a signal for turning off the driving ofthe wiper 400.

When the controller 200 detects that an error has occurred on the LINcommunication system (302 of FIG. 3), the controller 200 may beconfigured to enter a limp home mode (401). When the controller 200detects the rising edge signal while entering the limp home mode (402),the controller 200 may be configured to reset the counter 500 (405).This will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 5, when a rising edge signal is detected at the firstrising edge signal timing, the operation of the wiper 400 may bemaintained. In particular, since the wiper 400 is still in the operatingstate, the counter 500 may be reset or turned off. Subsequently, whenthe falling edge signal is detected, the wiper 400 may be stoppedimmediately by the protective action of the limp home mode.Additionally, the counter 500 may enter the on state and may beconfigured to measure the time that elapses after the wiper 400 isstopped. When the rising edge signal is detected while the waiting timedoes not reach the preset time (e.g., before the waiting time haselapsed), the operation of the wiper 400 may be restarted, and thecounter 500 may be configured to reset the previously measured waitingtime and enter the off state. After the wiper 400 is stopped, the wiper400 may be restarted by the driver to prevent obstruction of thedriver's view.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the controller 200 may beconfigured to maintain the rotation of the wiper 400 when the waitingtime does not reach the preset time. At this time, the preset time maybe set by the driver. For example, the preset time may be set to varioustimes through a user setting menu (USM) provided by an audio videonavigation (AVN) device mounted within a vehicle. In addition, accordingto an exemplary embodiment, the controller 200 may be configured toinitialize the waiting time measured by the counter 500 when the waitingtime does not reach the preset time and a signal for turning off thewiper driver 300 is not detected.

When the controller 200 detects the falling edge signal in the state ofentering the limp home mode (403), the counter 500 may be configured tostart the operation for measuring the waiting time. At this time, thewiper 400 may be stopped in response to the detection of the fallingedge signal (406). The above-described steps 406 to 408 will bedescribed in more detail with reference to FIG. 6.

Referring to FIG. 6, when the rising edge signal is detected at thefirst rising edge signal timing, the operation of the wiper 400 may bemaintained. At this time, since the wiper 400 is still in the operatingstate, the counter 500 may be reset or turned off. Subsequently, whenthe falling edge signal is detected, the wiper 400 may be stoppedimmediately by the protective action of the limp home mode. The counter500 may be configured to enter the on state and measure the time thatelapses since the wiper 400 is stopped. At this time, when the waitingtime measured by the counter 500 reaches a preset time (407), thecontroller 200 may be configured to adjust the position of the wiper 400to enter the parking state (408).

However, the above-described control operation may be performed onlywhen the wiper 400 is stopped at a position that obstructs the driver'sview on the wind shield. According to an exemplary embodiment, when thewiper 400 is stopped in the parking state, the controller 200 may beconfigured to operate the wiper driver 300 not to provide a drivingforce to the wiper 400. In particular, since the driver's field of viewis secured, unnecessary control operation may be prevented and powerwaste due to the driving of the wiper 200 may be prevented.

Further, according to an exemplary embodiment, the controller 200 may beconfigured to operate the wiper driver 300 not to provide a drivingforce to the wiper 400 when the position of the wiper 400 is stopped ata position equal to or less than a preset angle in the parking state.The present exemplary embodiment reflects that the wiper 400 is slightlylifted in the parking state, which may not interfere with the driver'sview. The preset angle may vary based on the driver's settings.According to an aspect of the disclosure, it may be possible to preventthe driver's view from being obstructed by the abnormal operation of thewiper in limp home mode.

Meanwhile, the disclosed exemplary embodiments may be implemented in theform of a recording medium storing instructions that are executable by acomputer. The instructions may be stored in the form of a program code,and when executed by a processor, the instructions may generate aprogram module to perform operations of the disclosed embodiments. Therecording medium may be implemented as a non-transitorycomputer-readable recording medium. The non-transitory computer-readablerecording medium may include all kinds of recording media storingcommands that may be interpreted by a computer. For example, thenon-transitory computer-readable recording medium may be ROM, RAM, amagnetic tape, a magnetic disc, flash memory, an optical data storagedevice, etc.

The exemplary embodiments of the disclosure have thus far been describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings. It will be obvious to thoseof ordinary skill in the art that the disclosure may be practiced inother forms than the exemplary embodiments as described above withoutchanging the technical idea or essential features of the disclosure. Theabove exemplary embodiments are only by way of example, and should notbe interpreted in a limited sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle, comprising: a wiper; a wiper driverconnected to the wiper and configured to provide a driving force forrotation of the wiper; a multi-function switch configured to receive auser command to turn the wiper driver on or off; and a controllerconfigured to adjust a position of the wiper to enter a parking stateafter a preset time when a local interconnect network (LIN)communication system enters a limp home mode and the rotation of thewiper is stopped by a signal for turning off the wiper driver.
 2. Thevehicle of claim 1, further comprising: a counter configured to measurea waiting time after the rotation of the wiper is stopped, wherein thecontroller is configured to adjust the position of the wiper to enterthe parking state when the waiting time measured by the counter reachesthe preset time.
 3. The vehicle of claim 2, wherein the controller isconfigured to maintain rotation of the wiper when the waiting time doesnot reach the preset time.
 4. The vehicle of claim 2, wherein thecontroller is configured to initialize the waiting time measured by thecounter when the waiting time does not reach the preset time and asignal for turning off the wiper driver is not detected,
 5. The vehicleof claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to operate the wiperdriver not to provide a driving force to the wiper when the wiper isstopped in a parking state.
 6. The vehicle of claim 2, wherein thecontroller is configured to operate the wiper driver not to provide adriving force to the wiper when the position of the wiper is stopped ata position equal to or less than a preset angle in the parking state. 7.The vehicle of claim 2, wherein the preset time is set according to userinput.
 8. A control method of vehicle, comprising: entering, by acontroller, a vehicle Local Interconnect Network (LIN) communicationsystem into a limp home mode; receiving, by the controller, a usercommand to turn rotation of a wiper of the vehicle on or off; andadjusting, by the controller, a position of the wiper to enter a parkingstate after a preset time when the rotation of the wiper is stopped by asignal for turning off the rotation of the wiper.
 9. The control methodof claim 8, further comprising: measuring, by the controller, a waitingtime after the rotation of the wiper is stopped; and adjusting, by thecontroller, the position of the wiper to enter the parking state whenthe measured waiting time reaches the preset time.
 10. The controlmethod of claim 9, further comprising: operating, by the controller, thewiper to maintain rotation of the wiper when the waiting time does notreach the preset time.
 11. The control method of claim 9, furthercomprising: initializing, by the controller, the measured waiting timewhen the waiting time does not reach the preset time and a signal forturning off the wiper rotation is not detected,
 12. The control methodof claim 9, further comprising: operating, by the controller, a wiperdriver of the wiper not to provide a driving force to the wiper when thewiper is stopped in a parking state.
 13. The control method of claim 9,further comprising: operating, by the controller, a wiper driver of thewiper not to provide a driving force to the wiper when the position ofthe wiper is stopped at a position equal to or less than a preset anglein the parking state.
 14. The control method of claim 9, wherein thepreset time is set according to user input.